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Person

Shimshai

scribe opposing Jerusalem's rebuilding

A Persian imperial scribe who with Rehum wrote to Artaxerxes to halt the rebuilding of Jerusalem, as recorded in Ezra 4.

4 appearances1 Bible books1 known aliases

Who or what is this?

Shimshai was a imperial who served alongside Rehum the chancellor in the province west of . Together they composed and dispatched a letter to King charging the returned Jewish exiles with sedition and urging the king to order a halt to the rebuilding of . Artaxerxes complied, and the work on the city walls was stopped by force of arms until a later reign. Shimshai's role is recorded in 4, illustrating the political opposition the restoration community faced from neighboring peoples and officials.

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All appearances4